MAGNUM LIVE AT GLASGOW GARAGE 2nd October 2026 - Live Review
Review and Photographs by Andrew West
When Tony Clarkin sadly passed away in January 2024 nobody would have complained if Bob Catley had said that it and called it a day, indeed that was his initial thoughts on one of the most moving videos I have watched. Then after a period of no doubt intense grief and reflection Bob decided the best way to pay tribute to his best friends and musical partner for 50 odd years was to continue to take his music to the audiences that he loved to entertain, and they loved to listen. So with Tony's old guitar tech taking the undoubtedly nerve racking step from the side of the stage to the stage itself the band hit the road for a small series of tribute shows.
These were a massive success and the fans of the band were delighted with the concept of honoring their hero, So we are back in Glasgow tonight as another clutch of shows take some of the finest classic rock music ever written back to the people who adored it.
Opening the show tonight are Grand Slam the band formed in 1984 by Phil Lynott and former Magnum keyboard player Mark Stanway and who were shortly thereafter joined by guitarist Laurence Archer. Tonight only Archer remains and he is joined by Mike Dyer on vocals, Rocky Newton on bass and Benjy Reid behind the kit. The band were short lived back in the day lasting around a year but with no record deal they went their separate ways leaving a collection of songs some of which would appear elsewhere over the years, We open tonight with Nineteen a song released by Lynott as a solo project. Gone are the Days comes from the 2019 album Hit The Ground recorded after the band reunited and then we have Dedication instantly recognizable as a Thin Lizzy number but indeed a Grand Slam song written by Archer and Lynott. The sound is a hard rocking sound not to far to the sound of Lizzy.
One of the highlights of the 8 song set is Military Man, Another Archer Lynott collaboration and found on the Gary Moore Run For Cover album a real blast from the past that switches from hard rocker to slow storyteller and back to a rocking end. We finish with a reworked version of Whiskey In The Jar recorded by the band as a tribute to Lynott on what would have been his 75th birthday. An excellent set that brought back some great memories and songs I had not heard in a while.
And so to Magnum, the lights dimmed and the intro to Days of No Trust rung out as the band take the stage joined lastly by the enigmatic Catley, at 79 years of age a lot of people would be resting at home enjoying a well earned retirement, but not Catley, he puts many much younger than him to shame with his energy, all the hand gestures and poses are still there and more important than anything the voice is still most definitely there as he incredibly never misses a note. Lost on The Road to Eternity follows, a song originally recorded with Catley's good friend from Avantasia Tobias Sammet, This song just about sums up Magnum and Clarkin's talent as a song writer, classic Magnum sound from beginning to end, rocking, soaring vocals, melody driving beat and a chorus that demands to be sung along with. Wild Swan follows, a full on rocker from the classic Wings of Heaven album that saw the band in their peak years and memorable sold out gigs at the Edinburgh Playhouse.
Many will look upon When We Were Younger as a newer song in the Magnum cataloger yet unbelievably it is almost 20 years old now coming from the 2007 Princess Alice album. Indeed with somewhere in the region of 250 songs recorded over those 50 years it would be an impossible task to please everyone with a set list as every individual will have his own favorites from that vast collection of material, Nobody though will be dissapointed with what we get, Run Into The Shadows comes next and is from the last album recorded by the band before Clarkins untimely passing, This run of shows marks the first time any songs from that disc are being played live as the band never had the chance to play following its release and Clarkins passing.
Up next is a first trip back to the album that ranks as number one with the majority of the bands fans On A Storytellers Night, How Far Jerusalem is always a crowd pleaser and is sure to get them dancing in the aisles.
Even Catley still manages his trademark bouncing as he sings the chorus back by around 700 backing singers.
Soldier Of The Line takes us right back to 1982 and my first connection to the band when as a fresh faced long haired 14 year old I picked up the Chase the Dragon album and brought it home with me.
The pace slows down for a little acoustic rendition of The Tall Ships from the often overlooked Rock Art album that was the last recorded before the bands hiatus.
The Glasgow choir were by now well warmed up and as On A Storytellers Night kicked in Catley could well have continued to sit on his stool and enjoy a break as not a word was missed by his adoring public.
The run in to the end of the night was classic after classic, Midnight and Vigilante from the Vigilante album, All England's Eyes from Storytellers night and finishing on what else but Kingdom Of Madness.
Of course we all know the band would take their applause and return and Rick Benton's keyboards kick in with the unmistakable intro to Sacred Hour,
“I hear the voice of the crowd
It will last forever
Locked in my heart, kept away
Like a stolen treasure
I can hear them calling
Hear the crowd applauding
If it's real I like the feeling”
Its been a bit more than a Sacred Hour but the voice of the crowd will last forever and so will the music created by the one and only Tony Clarkin, To this day I still feel the hairs on my neck stand when Bob sings these songs, memories flood back. Magnum had always been there since my musical journey began and when Clarkin passed a part of all of us went as well, But he left a legacy of some of the finest music of my life and I am honestly glad that Bob has carried on bringing it to us at its best, live on stage.
We end with When The World Comes Down and Glasgow does not disappoint. We sway to a man (and women) back and forth and soak in every word. Its emotional, I am sure I saw some tears being shed.
And with that we make our way into the Glasgow night with the last words ringing in our heads.
“May all your dreams come true, Dreams come true for you, I want them to”
